What do you Cherish?
An ongoing project on designing for cherishing
“In my project “Design for Cherishing”, the round bottom of the bowl brings a sense of instability, making people want to touch it, yet it is not unbalanced. Its thick bottom provides it with “safe instability” like a tumbler, ensuring both that food won’t spill as well as acting as a trigger for the user to touch. When the bowl is picked up, people want to hold it with both hands. The movement of the hands implies respect and formality in Eastern culture. This creates a psychological nudge to pay attention to the weight in the hand and the food itself. The way of holding it also makes it that the temperature, smell, and colour of the food is more directly conveyed to the user.”
“In people’s life scenes, there are still many opportunities for interventions like this. This project will also extend forward, to furniture, to space, and finally to people’s hearts.”
Something I cherish
During my childhood, my parents would always be travelling for work. So my uncle would be my guardian. One time at his house I saw this cute little violin. I could not stop looking at it and admiring the shape and the sound that could come out from this tiny instrument.
My first thought was “ I wonder how Symphony no.40 in g minor would sound like if little mice performed on this.” Breaking news, mice don’t play Mozart. As I was leaving, my uncle told me to close my eyes and put my hands out. So I did. Expecting gift money, I was astonished to find something much more all-embracing. He gave me strict instructions to take responsibility for it, so I made it my life’s mission to guard this violin. In some way its a symbol of the special connection we had.
I got the news he fell ill, but after two heart surgeries and AA meetings, he recovered, so I hold this even closer to my heart to remember how resilient he is. This object is much more than just a delicately sculpted ornament. It made me realise how blessed I am to be raised by a village. I never travel without it.
